General Information

Title of the event

Abstract

The paradigm of Open Science is based on the tiers Open Access, Open Data and Free Open Source Software (FOSS). However, the interconnections between the tiers remain to be improved. This is a critical factor to enable Open Science. This Townhall meeting reaches out all across EGU, espescially welcoming Early Career Scientists, to network and discuss the current challenges and opportunities, including:

OpenPlanetary (OP) was born as a community-driven initiative to address the need of the planetary science community for sharing ideas and collaborating on common planetary research topics mostly related to data analysis problems. OpenPlanetary started back in 2015 from an initial participants effort to stay connected and share information related to and beyond the ESA’s first Planetary GIS Workshop. It then continued during the 2nd USGS Planetary Data Workshop. Since 2018 OP became a non-profit organization.

With 300+ members across many countries, the OpenPlanetary community is made-up of and intended for research and education professionals: scientists, engineers, designers, teachers, and students, as well as space enthusiasts and citizen scientists.

Our common goal is to promote and facilitate the open practice of planetary science and data analysis for professionals and amateurs. We do so by organizing events and conducting collaborative projects aimed at creating scientific, technical and educational resources, tools and data accessible to all. For two years OP has organized the OP-DataCafe within the European Planetary Science Congress, where researchers gather to discuss data and software related topics.

The OP flagship project is OpenPlanetaryMap (OPM), a mapping and social platform to foster planetary mapping and cartography on the web for all.

Since a big part of planetary data comes from the processing of remote sensing instruments, the use of geospatial technologies commonly used for Earth-based application is being spread among the Planetary Science community in the last decade.

This OSGeo/OPM townhall meeting represents the first contact between the newborn OP and the more than 10 years old OSGeo foundation. We will discuss and delineate possible common ground where to develop ideas and coordinates projects.

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation, or OSGeo, is a not-for-profit umbrella organization for Free and Open Source geospatial tools, including QGIS, gvSIG, GRASS GIS, Geoserver and many others. OSGeo is hosting this Townhall event to support the collaborative development of open source geospatial software by promoting sustainable Open Science within EGU.

Venue / Time (requested)

Type of event

Townhalls are "networking events" hosted at the European Geosiences Union (EGU) General Assembly (GA) for up to 350 people.

EGU-wording: "Townhall Meetings are meetings open for all participants in the conference at which new initiatives or decisions are announced to a larger audience following an open discussion on the matter raised."

Townhalls are hosted in the evening following the conclusion of all scientific tracks. The events last one hour and usually have presentations / announcements taking up the first 20 minutes, to allow for an open discussion among the attendees. During this phase, refreshments are provided to ensure a lively and convivial atmosphere.

Expected Audience Size

50 - 80 people (optimistic guestimate from 2017 attendance numbers, we got less in 2018 dur to competing events)

Audience: Topical Background

Free Open Source Software from OSGeo projects affects most if not all EGU Divisions.
Currently FOSS (OSGeo projects + R, GMT, etc.) is particularly strong in the Hydrology, Atmospheric Sciences, Earth and Space Sience Informatics and Tectonics Divisions.

Attendees are expected from the following fields (Academia, Research and Industry).

Audience: Professional Level

Venue

Townhall location: The townhall will be hosted in a dedicated lecture hall on the conference premises. Room capacity: Most likely up to 100 people.

Preliminary date and time: TBD , 19:00 - 20:00 hours.

Relevance for OSGeo (Draft)

how will our participation help OSGeo

Continuation and expansion of the "topical bridgehead" established within EGU by the first two OSGeo Townhalls in 2014 and 2015.

Raise awareness at and reach-out to the European geoscience community by hosting a dedicated public OSGeo event at the largest European geoscience conference.

Reach out to young scientists starting their careers.

Meeting place for people already active in OSGeo ("meta-BoF") as a large number of people congregates every year at the EGU GA.

Reach out to decision makers/elders/scientific activists within the EGU Divisions.

Culmination of the "FOSS day" at the EGU GA: The organizers are urged to to schedule all FOSS / OSGeo - related events on the same day. This will ensure we have a large audience and niceties such as "FOSS flashmobs" can be arranged for poster sessions. The "FOSS day" could and should be finished off with the OSGeo townhall, as a "multiplier/bring them all together" event.

Opportunities for 2019

The ESSI division is changing its overall approach. OSGeo should play a prominent role in the discussions.

OSGeo could sponsor a dedicated session in ESSI or cross-division.

OSGeo could sponsor a price / (lunch-)event /session for early career scientists

EGU intends to introduce a "data helpdesk" in 2019 or later, similar to the one introduced by AGU in 2017: OSGeo folks could participate by giving advice on particular software tools ("Ask a guru") - this would provide much more flexibility than normal EGU workshops, since it would be driven by real world questions of the attendees.